Am I Pretty?
by emii-chan
Summary: Sakuno asks Ryoma a question. Can he give the right answer? -RyoSaku vs. OshiSaku- -Ch 2: Another perspective-
1. Am I Pretty?

**Disclaimer:** Prince of Tennis © Konomi Takeshi.

"Saa-kuu-nooooo…" Tomoka whined, "We finished our third year already, you're transferring to Hyotei for high school, and you STILL HAVEN'T TOLD HIM HOW YOU FEEL?"

"A-a-ano—"

"As vice-president of Ryoma-sama's fanclub, it's disgraceful to both you and the rest of the club! Especially since he's been watching you so carefully recently!"

"I—he—ano…"

"Here. Just go ask him if he thinks you're pretty, ne? He'll definitely say yes!"

"H-hai…"

—————

"Nya, did you hear that?"

"Ryuzaki-chan is going to confess! So young, so young!"

"Ii data. There is a 72 percent chance that Echizen returns her feelings."

"Fshuuuuu…Senpai-tachi no baka."

"Saaa, I wonder what Sumire-chan will make of this…"

"Minna, we shouldn't be eavesdropping! If Echizen were to find out, his feelings would be deeply hurt!"

"Nya, we weren't eavesdropping! Intentionally…"

"It was an accident, an accident!"

"Fshhhhuuu…baka."

"Hai, Taka-san."

"HORA HORA, COME ONE, BUUUURRRNING! LET'S WATCH THE HEATED AND PASSIONATE CONFESSION OF LOOOOOVE!"

"Ii data."

—————

_-POK-_

"A-ano…"

_-POK-_

"Ryoma-kun…"

_-POK-_

"Ryuzaki."

_-POK-_

"Nani?"

_-POK-_

"C-could I…t-talk to you for a minute?"

The capped tennis player caught the ball.

"Ii yo, betsuni."

The two walked over to the largest of the cherry blossom trees that grew around the school, along with various bushes.

"A-ano…Ryoma-kun? Do you…th-think I'm pretty?"

He blinked. "No."

She sucked in her breath. Pinking, and slightly angry, she asked, "I-If I was hurt, would you cry?"

He blinked twice, making her wonder if his brain function only allowed him to blink. "No."

"R-Ryoma-kun! I thought—Don't you—do you like me at all!" Her voice rose in both pitch and volume.

"No" followed a long series of blinks.

"I..Ryoma-kun—I—You jerk!" Before she even realized it, she was running, school bag forgotten. Her eyes stung as tears welled forth, and she knew her face was probably all blotchy and red. She wasn't running home. Just…away. She ran as far as her thin legs could carry her, then slumped against a wall, her body wracking with sobs.

-Ten years later-

"Tadaima, Sakuno-chan."

"Okaeri! Ah! The baby kicked today, during your match!"

"I missed it! Next time, call me, ne?"

"Hai, hai. Do you want to go for a celebratory dinner, in honor of you winning the match? "We can invite Gakuto-kun, too! Ne, Yuushi?"

"Sure. Just give me aminute. I want to change."

Following her husband's lead, Sakuno went to her closet, looking for something to wear.

While looking through a shelf with various maternity tops, a box fell to the carpeted floor with a muffled _thud_, and a small cloud of dust rose, causing Sakuno to sneeze. Out of curiosity, she gently lifted the dusty lid, to find an assortment of her middle school belongings. She lifted out different items, mulling over the memories associated with each item. She picked up her old school bag, which Tomoka had brought home for her the first day of summer vacation. She was about to set it back in the box when a paper fluttered out. Thinking it was a grade sheet, she picked it up, eager to reminisce about Seigaku and her friends there. However, after reading the contents of the paper, Sakuno gasped, and tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

"Sakuno-chan, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just…pregnancy hormones. Let's go!" She put on a cheery smile for the sake of her husband, before kissing the paper and setting it down, almost lovingly, on top of the box. And then, she whispered, almost to herself, _"Gomen ne, Ryoma-kun."_

"_Ryuzaki—_

_I couldn't answer your questions honestly today. The senpai-tachi were spying from the bushes again. Gomen. I've decided to take the coward's way out and write you this letter to explain things. They're true, though. The things I said. _

_You're not pretty. You're stunningly, radiantly, amazingly, ravishingly beautiful._

_If you were hurt, I wouldn't cry. I would die, after getting revenge on whoever caused you pain._

_And most importantly, I don't like you. I love you, with every fiber of my soul, with every inch of my heart._

_Don't let the senpai-tachi get their hands on this note. I'll see you in high school, ne?_

_I love you._

_I'm sorry._

_Echizen Ryoma"_

_**

* * *

**_

**Glossary:**

_Ano_- umm...

_Hai- _Yes, Yes sir/ma'am

_Senpai-tachi-_ Upperclassmen

_Baka-_ Stupid

_Minna_- Everybody

_Nani?- _What?

_Ii yo, betsuni_- All right, whatever.

_Tadaima, Okaeri-_ I'm home, welcome home

_Gomen/ Gomen ne_- I'm sorry.

A/N: BWAHAHAHA! ANGST! I just wanted to see if I could write a decent Ryosaku-angst fic. I put in Oshitari as the husband because OshiSaku was requested a few times in Everybody loves Sakuno. . This fic is completely, totally based off of a chain email that I got a while ago; I thought it was really sweet. Except, for some reason, I wanted to make it angsty. I was bored.


	2. You are Cordially Invited

Osakada Tomoka set down the invitation.

_Should I tell him?_ The elegant script announcing the upcoming marital bliss of her middle school friend glared at her accusingly, as her memories drifted back to that year.

She was selfish. When Sakuno told her and only her about her transfer to Hyotei, she really was sad that she wouldn't go to high school with her best friend. But a different, darker, thought sat at the back of her head, a mental itch making her uncomfortable.

Echizen Ryoma. Everyone except for the two involved knew that Ryoma and Sakuno had feelings for each other. Tomoka especially was painfully aware of this fact, and had been working hard to move past it and be happy for her friend and for her idol. But with Sakuno out of the way…

It hadn't been difficult, keeping them apart. Finding the note Ryoma had put in her shoe locker, and hiding it for a few days. Keeping quiet about where Sakuno had gone for high school. Everyone who knew where she had transferred assumed Ryoma had coldly broken her heart, and refused to tell him the name of the school, so Tomoka worked at blending in with that group. At the same time, she could comfort the both of them, encouraging them to move on from their middle school crush. That part took a while. It wasn't until Atobe Keigo asked Sakuno out on a date that Tomoka's feelings for Echizen were answered—Ryoma didn't have to know that Sakuno had said no. Tomoka knew she was a rebound; other friends told her so, that the relationship wouldn't last, that he wasn't nearly in love with her as she was with him. She didn't care. She wasn't astoundingly talented like Tachibana An, nor was she kind, gentle, and inviting like Sakuno. All she had was tenacity and barely above average looks, so she clung to Ryoma as hard as she could, all the while bearing judgement and mean looks from so many girls at Seigaku.

It was her stubbornness, equally as pigheaded as Ryoma, that finally sealed the deal and turned them into a real couple. Even now, as she neared the end of college, preparing for a career in public relations, she could be seen in sports magazines on the arm of the rising pro tennis player.

She shook her head, ridding herself of thoughts of the past. Everyone had moved on. Found new love. Hell, even Horio, who had confessed to Tomoka the same day Sakuno left Seigaku, had found a steady girlfriend.

If they knew what she had done, would they forgive her? How harshly would she be judged? She often wondered. Still, she knew she would do the same if given another chance. She loved Ryoma. Not in the same way as she had initially, as a fan. She saw his face when Sakuno's name was not on the class lists at high school, when she was not at the entrance ceremony. She saw him searching for her whenever he could. She saw him throw himself into tennis, hoping she was involved in the tennis club at her new school. That depth of emotion, his ability to love, frightened Tomoka, but drew her closer still. And it was this new love that eased her guilt, allowed her to smile at both Sakuno and Ryoma, separately.

And now it allowed her to welcome him home with open arms and a smile, to mention a wedding invitation in the mail—an old friend and a pro doubles player, well known in the Japanese tennis circuit—casually, to take the flash of emotion at the back of his eyes with understanding, to later congratulate a beautiful bride and lucky groom with her boyfriend, and to keep her little bit of sadness and guilt on the inside.

* * *

That's right. I'm still alive. People asked for Ryoma's reaction, but I didn't feel like I could adequately put that into words, so I went for the indirect approach. It ended up being a character study for Tomoka, though it's a bit ramble-y. I've never written Tomoka before, so it was interesting, and I thought there was a lot of potential for depth.

I love all my readers, especially if any of you have stick with me since when this was first published (2006!) but I feel a specific need to give a shout-out to Hinata's Fox, neko11lover, and keiiah for pointing out the original story's plot holes and motivating me to write more.

On another note, I don't think I've written fanfic in at least five years. Cheers to my resurrection? Critiques welcome.


End file.
